Alternate e-mail delivery

ABSTRACT

A method is provided for transmitting an electronic mail (e-mail) message from a sender having a non-ASCII username to a recipient. The method comprising the following steps. It is determined whether or not the recipient is configured to receive the e-mail message. If the recipient is configured to receive the e-mail message, the message is transmitted to the recipient. If the recipient is not configured to receive the e-mail message, the e-mail message is submitted for storage in a data store, a uniform resource locator (URL) to identify a location of the stored e-mail message is obtained; and a notification message, including the URL, is transmitted to the recipient. A proxy server and e-mail server for implementing the method are also provided.

The present invention relates generally to electronic mail (e-mail)delivery and specifically to a system and method for delivering e-mailmessages from a non-ASCII e-mail address to mail user agents incapableof handling non-ASCII e-mail addresses.

BACKGROUND

With the growth of computer networks, electronic mail (e-mail) hasbecome a popular means for both personal and professional communication.Due, in large part, to the proliferation of the Internet, e-mail hasbecome a standard means of communication for millions of people.

A sender uses a Mail User Agent (MUA) to create an e-mail message.Examples of MUAs include client-side applications such as MicrosoftOutlook and Eudora as well as web-based applications such as Hotmail andGmail. As is well known, the sender creates the e-mail message byentering one or more e-mail addresses, a message subject, a message bodyand may also attach files to the message. Each e-mail address comprisestwo portions. A first portion is referred to as a domain of the e-mailaddress and references a host name or domain name. The domain istypically located to the right of the ‘@’ sign. A second portion isreferred to as a username or account name and is used to identify ane-mail account at the domain. The username is typically located to theleft of the ‘@’ sign.

The MUA transmits the e-mail message to the recipient, or recipients,via a transmission e-mail server. The transmission e-mail serverincludes a Mail Submission Agent (MSA) and a Simple Mail TransferProtocol (SMTP) server. The MSA contacts a Domain Name Server (DNS) toresolve the domain name of the e-mail address and obtain a correspondingInternet Protocol (IP) address. The SMTP server uses the obtained IPaddress to transmit the message to a receiving e-mail server for therecipient. The e-mail message maybe transmitted directly to thereceiving e-mail server or it may be relayed via a plurality of MailTransport Agents (MTAs).

The receiving e-mail server typically includes a MTA, a local deliveryagent, local file storage, and a Post Office Protocol (POP) and/orInternet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) server to allow e-mail messageretrieval. The recipient uses a MUA to retrieve the e-mail message fromthe receiving e-mail server.

In a typical ASCII environment all of the components in the network arecapable of processing an ASCII e-mail address. However, e-mail addressesin the near future may contain foreign language (non-ASCII) characters.For example, Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) are defined asInternet domain names that can potentially include non-ASCII characters.It is envisaged that international e-mail addresses may also include IDNusernames as part of such an e-mail address. Therefore, it is possiblethat the IDN usernames may also include non-ASCII characters.

In order to overcome this limitation, a method has been proposed thatallows ASCII-only system components to “downgrade” an IDN e-mailaddress. Specifically, an alternate, ASCII e-mail address is defined bya user for an IDN e-mail addresses. Accordingly, when an ASCII-onlysystem component receives an IDN e-mail address, the e-mail address isdowngraded by replacing it with the alternate, ASCII e-mail address.

Although this solution enables e-mail messages having IDN e-mailaddresses to be delivered using existing network components, it requireseach user to establish and maintain two different e-mail boxes.

Accordingly, it is desirable to facilitate the delivery of e-mailmessages having IDN e-mail addresses across a network that may includeone or more components that are compatible only with ASCII e-mailaddress, without the limitations of the prior art.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provideda method for transmitting an electronic mail (e-mail) message from asender having a non-ASCII username to a recipient, the method comprisingthe steps of: determining whether or not the recipient is configured toreceive the e-mail message; if the recipient is configured to receivethe e-mail message, transmitting the message to the recipient; if therecipient is not configured to receive the e-mail message: submittingthe e-mail message for storage in a data store; obtaining a uniformresource locator (URL) to identify a location of the stored e-mailmessage; and transmitting a notification message to the recipient, thenotification message including the URL.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention there isprovided a non-transient computer readable medium having stored thereoninstructions for executing the above-described method when implementedby a processor.

In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention thereis provided a proxy e-mail server configured to display an e-mailmessage from a sender having a non-ASCII username to a recipient thatcannot receive e-mail messages from senders non-ASCII usernames, theproxy e-mail server comprising: a data store configured to store thee-mail message from a transmission e-mail server; and a web serverconfigured to: generate a URL to identify a location of the e-mailmessage; transmit the URL to the recipient; and display the e-mailmessage to the recipient when the recipient accesses the URL.

In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention thereis provided an e-mail server configured to transmit an e-mail messagefrom a sender having a non-ASCII username to a recipient, the e-mailserver comprising: memory for storing instructions; and a processor,configured to execute the instructions to implement the steps of:determining whether or not the recipient is configured to receive thee-mail message; if the recipient is configured to receive the e-mailmessage, transmitting the message to the recipient; if the recipient isnot configured to receive the e-mail message: submitting the e-mailmessage for storage in a data store; obtaining a uniform resourcelocator (URL) to identify a location of the stored e-mail message; andtransmitting a notification message to the recipient, the messagenotification including the URL.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way ofexample only with reference to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sample network infrastructure; and

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating transmission of an e-mail message.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

For convenience, like numerals in the description refer to likestructures in the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagramillustrating a sample network infrastructure in accordance with thepresent embodiment is illustrated generally by numeral 100. The network100 includes communication devices 103 a and 103 b, a transmissione-mail server 108, a communication network 104, a reception e-mailserver 110, and a proxy e-mail server 107.

The communication devices 103 a and 103 b can be any one of a number ofdevices used to transmit and/or receive e-mail messages, such as apersonal computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, or a personal digital assistant for example. The communicationnetwork 104 includes a plurality of network components required tofacilitate communication between the transmission e-mail server 108 andthe reception email server 110, as is known in the art. The proxy e-mailserver 107 includes a temporary e-mail data store 109 and a web server111. The web server 111 includes a browser-based Mail User Agent (MUA)that is IDN username compatible.

A sender uses a corresponding communication device 103 a fortransmitting an e-mail message via a MUA. The transmission e-mail server108 includes a Mail Submission Agent (MSA) and a Simple Mail TransferProtocol (SMTP) server.

As is known in the art, the transmission e-mail server 108 may be localto the sender's communication device 103 a, connected with the sender'scommunication device 103 a via a local network (not shown), or hosted ata remote site and connected with the sender's communication device 103 avia the communication network 104.

Similar to the sender, a recipient uses a corresponding communicationdevice 103 b for displaying an e-mail message via a MUA. The receptione-mail server 110 includes a MTA, a local delivery agent, local filestorage and a message retrieval server.

As is known in the art, the reception e-mail server 110 may be local tothe recipient's communication device 103 b, connected with therecipient's communication device 103 b via a local network, or hosted ata remote site and connected with the recipient's communication device103 b via a public network such as the Internet.

The MTA is configured to receive an e-mail message from the transmissione-mail server 108 either directly, or indirectly via a plurality ofintermediate MTAs. The local delivery agent is configured to persist thereceived e-mail message on the local storage in a directorycorresponding with the username. The message retrieval server comprisesone or more of a POP server, an IMAP server or a local host server, andis configured to deliver e-mail messages from the local storage 108 tothe recipient for display via the MUA.

In the present embodiment, for ease of explanation only, the sender'scommunication device 103 a and the transmission e-mail server 108support IDN usernames while the reception e-mail server 110 and therecipient's communication device 103 b do not support IDN usernames.Accordingly, if the sender were to send an e-mail message to therecipient, the recipient would not be able to respond since the IDNusername could not be properly processed. The present embodimentovercomes the deficiencies at the recipient by storing the e-mailmessage from the sender at the proxy e-mail server 107. A notificationof the e-mail message, including a location of the e-mail message on theweb server 111, is sent to the recipient. The recipient can then viewand reply to the e-mail message on the web server 111 via a browser.

Referring to FIG. 2, a flow chart describing the steps of transmittingthe e-mail message from the sender to the recipient is illustratedgenerally by numeral 200. At step 202, the sender drafts a new e-mailmessage using a MUA that supports the IDN e-mail standard. The sender'scommunication device 103 a then connects to the transmission e-mailserver 108 and transmits the e-mail message.

At step 204, the transmission e-mail server 108 connects to thereception e-mail server 110 to determine if it is IDN e-mail complaint.If the reception e-mail server 110 is IDN username compliant, theprocess continues to step 206 and the transmission e-mail server 108transmits the e-mail message. At this point the process is complete.

If the reception e-mail server 110 is not IDN username compliant, theprocess continues to step 208 and the e-mail message is transmitted tothe proxy e-mail server 107 and stored in the stored in the temporarye-mail database 109.

At step 210, the proxy e-mail server 107 generates a uniform resourcelocator (URL) that can be used to access the e-mail message. In thepresent embodiment the URL is generated using a random URL generator.The type of random URL generator used is beyond the scope of the presentinvention and may include known or proprietary methods. The generatedURL is transmitted to the transmission e-mail server 110.

At step 212, the transmission e-mail server 110 generates a notificationmessage, including the URL of the e-mail message, and transmits thenotification message to the reception e-mail server 110 using thestandard SMTP protocol. In the present embodiment, the notificationmessage is in the form of an e-mail, with the URL contained in the bodyof the e-mail message. However, other methods for sending thenotification message may be used.

At step 214, the recipient's communication device 103 b receives thenotification message from the reception e-mail server 110. The recipientclicks on the URL contained in the notification message and, thereby,requests that the web server 111 displays the stored e-mail message.

At step 216, the web server 111 responds and sends the stored e-mailmessage to the recipient's browser to be displayed. The recipient canread and respond to the e-mail message using a browser-based MUAexecuting at the proxy e-mail server 107. In addition to being able toread and reply to the e-mail message, the recipient can also performother mail operations such as forward the e-mail message and requestthat the e-mail message is delivered to the recipient's mailbox. If thelatter is selected, the e-mail message is sent from the proxy e-mailserver 107 to the recipient's communication device 103 b via thereception e-mail server 110. However, in the present embodiment, theproxy e-mail server 107 strips the IDN username from the e-mail messageand replaces it with a generic username, such as “no-reply” for example.In an alternative embodiment, the IDN username is stripped from thee-mail message and replaced with an ASCII username specified by thesender.

Accordingly, the present embodiment provides a mechanism by which arecipient can perform mail operations on an e-mail message from a senderhaving an IDN username even though the reception e-mail server 110 isnot IDN username compliant.

Further, although the present embodiment is described with reference toa specific embodiment, variations on the implementation will be apparentto a person of ordinary skill in the art.

For example, in the embodiment described above, a single proxy e-mailserver 107 is described. In one embodiment, a single proxy e-mail server107 can be used for all transmission e-mail servers 108. Alternatively,a single proxy e-mail server 107 can be used for each transmissione-mail server 108. Yet alternatively, a plurality of proxy e-mailservers 107 can be used. The configuration of the proxy-e-mail servers107 can vary depending on the implementation. For example, each of theproxy e-mail servers 107 can be associated with a plurality of differenttransmission e-mail servers 108. Alternatively, a plurality of the proxye-mail servers 107 can be associated with a plurality of differenttransmission e-mail servers 108. Yet alternatively. Each of theplurality of different transmission e-mail servers 108 can be associatedwith a plurality of the proxy e-mail servers 107. Determining which ofthe proxy-servers 107 to be used can depend on the transmission e-mailserver 108, the sender's communication device 103 a, the sender,recipient, the recipient's communication device 103 b, the receptione-mail server 110, or a combination thereof.

As another example, the embodiments described above refer to a proxye-mail server 107 as being separate from the transmission e-mail server108. It is possible, however, that the two servers may be implemented onthe same physical machine.

As another example, the embodiments described above refer to thereception e-mail server 110 and the recipient as being non-compliantwith IDN usernames. However, it is possible that the reception e-mailserver 110 is IDN username compliant, but only recipient's communicationdevice 103 b is not. In this embodiment, the e-mail message may beforwarded to the proxy e-mail server 107 by either the transmissione-mail server 108 or the reception e-mail server 110, depending on theimplementation.

As another example, in the embodiments described above, step 208describes generating a random URL for sending to the recipient as partof the notification. However, in different implementations, differentlevels of security may be required. Accordingly, different methods forgenerating the URL, sending the notification and providing the user atthe recipient with access to the web server 111 may be employed. In oneembodiment, a password to access the web server 111 is transmitted tothe recipient, either along with the notification or as a separatenotification. Alternatively, the random URL can be include a non-randomportion, such as the domain name of either the sender's e-mail addressor the recipient's e-mail address, and a random portion. Mixing randomand non-random portions of a URL may make the URL more difficult toguess. Yet alternatively, when the recipient accesses the web server111, the recipient is prompted to establish an account having a usernameand a password. All subsequent e-mail messages to that recipient wouldrequire the recipient to log in using the username and password.

Further, the network traffic between the proxy e-mail server 107 can beplaintext or encrypted. A number of different known or proprietaryencryption schemes, password or token authentication, and/or HTTPS canbe applied to traffic between the recipient and the proxy e-mail server107.

As another example, in the embodiments described above, step 210describes the notification as being sent by the transmission e-mailserver 108. Alternatively, the notification can be sent directly fromthe proxy e-mail server 107 to the reception e-mail server 110.

Using the foregoing specification, the invention may be implemented as amachine, process or article of manufacture by using standard programmingand/or engineering techniques to produce programming software, firmware,hardware or any combination thereof.

Any resulting program(s), having computer-readable program code, may beembodied within one or more computer-usable media such as memory devicesor transmitting devices, thereby making a computer program product orarticle of manufacture according to the invention. As such, the terms“software” and “application” as used herein are intended to encompass acomputer program existent on any computer-usable medium such as on anymemory device.

Examples of memory devices include, hard disk drives, diskettes, opticaldisks, magnetic tape, semiconductor memories such as FLASH, RAM, ROM,PROMS, and the like.

Examples of networks include, but are not limited to, the Internet,intranets, telephone/modem-based network communication,hard-wired/cabled communication network, cellular communication, radiowave communication, satellite communication, and other stationary ormobile network systems/communication links.

A machine embodying the invention may involve one or more processingsystems including, for example, CPU, memory/storage devices,communication links, communication/transmitting devices, servers, I/Odevices, or any subcomponents or individual parts of one or moreprocessing systems, including software, firmware, hardware, or anycombination or subcombination thereof, which embody the invention as setforth in the claims.

Using the description provided herein, those skilled in the art will bereadily able to combine software created as described with appropriategeneral purpose or special purpose computer hardware to create acomputer system and/or computer subcomponents embodying the invention,and to create a computer system and/or computer subcomponents forcarrying out the method of the invention.

Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been describedherein, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvariations may be made thereto and combination be made thereof withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. A method for transmitting an electronic mail (e-mail) message from asender having a non-ASCII username to a recipient, the method comprisingthe steps of: determining whether or not the recipient is configured toreceive the e-mail message; if the recipient is configured to receivethe e-mail message, transmitting the message to the recipient; if therecipient is not configured to receive the e-mail message: submittingthe e-mail message for storage in a data store; obtaining a uniformresource locator (URL) to identify a location of the stored e-mailmessage; and transmitting a notification message to the recipient, thenotification message including the URL.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein upon receipt of the notification message, the recipient uses theURL to access the e-mail message
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein therecipient uses the URL to access the e-mail message via a web browser.4. The method of claim 2, wherein the user can perform mail operationson the e-mail message.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the mailoperation is a request to send the e-mail message to the recipient,comprising the further steps removing the non-ASCII username andtransmitting the message to the recipient.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the non-ASCII username is replaced with a generic ASCII usernameor an ASCII username defined by the sender.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the URL is randomly generated.
 8. The method of claim 2,comprising the further step of encrypting communication when therecipient uses the URL to access the e-mail message.
 9. The method ofclaim 2 comprising the further steps of obtaining a password associatedwith the URL; and transmitting the password to the recipient; whereinthe password is used to validate the recipient when the recipient usesthe URL to access the e-mail message.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe password is sent in a password notification message, which isdistinct from the notification message.
 11. The method of claim 2comprising the further steps of requiring the recipient to establish anaccount when the recipient uses the URL to access the e-mail message;wherein further e-mail messages to the recipient are associated with theaccount.
 12. A proxy e-mail server configured to display an e-mailmessage from a sender having a non-ASCII username to a recipient thatcannot receive e-mail messages from senders non-ASCII usernames, theproxy e-mail server comprising: a data store configured to store thee-mail message from a transmission e-mail server; a web serverconfigured to: generate a URL to identify a location of the e-mailmessage; transmit the URL to the recipient; and display the e-mailmessage to the recipient when the recipient accesses the URL.
 13. Theproxy e-mail server of claim 12, wherein the web server transmits theURL to the recipient either by transmitting the URL to the transmissione-mail server, which transmits the URL in a notification message to areception e-mail server; or by transmitting the URL in a notificationmessage directly to the reception e-mail server.
 14. The proxy e-mailserver of claim 12, wherein proxy e-mail server is associated with acorresponding transmission e-mail server.
 15. The proxy e-mail server ofclaim 12, wherein proxy e-mail server is associated with a correspondingreception e-mail server.
 16. The proxy e-mail server of claim 12,wherein the web server is further configured to generate a passwordassociated with the URL; and transmitting the password to the recipient;wherein the password is used to validate the recipient when therecipient uses the URL to access the e-mail message.
 17. The proxye-mail server of claim 16, wherein the password is sent separately fromthe notification message.
 18. The proxy e-mail server of claim 12wherein the web server is further configured to establish an accountwhen the recipient uses the URL to access the e-mail message; whereinfurther e-mail messages to the recipient are associated with theaccount.
 19. An e-mail server configured to transmit an e-mail messagefrom a sender having a non-ASCII username to a recipient, the e-mailserver comprising: memory for storing instructions; and a processor,configured to execute the instructions to implement the steps of:determining whether or not the recipient is configured to receive thee-mail message; if the recipient is configured to receive the e-mailmessage, transmitting the message to the recipient; if the recipient isnot configured to receive the e-mail message: submitting the e-mailmessage for storage in a data store; obtaining a uniform resourcelocator (URL) to identify a location of the stored e-mail message; andtransmitting a notification message to the recipient, the messagenotification including the URL.
 20. The e-mail server of claim 19,wherein the e-mail server is a transmission e-mail server or a receptione-mail server.
 21. A non-transitory computer readable medium havingstored thereon instructions for transmitting an electronic mail (e-mail)message from a sender having a non-ASCII username to a recipient, theinstructions when executed by a processor cause the processor toimplement the steps of: determining whether or not the recipient isconfigured to receive the e-mail message; if the recipient is configuredto receive the e-mail message, transmitting the message to therecipient; if the recipient is not configured to receive the e-mailmessage: submitting the e-mail message for storage in a data store;obtaining a uniform resource locator (URL) to identify a location of thestored e-mail message; and transmitting a notification message to therecipient, the notification message including the URL.